A.J. Emms Scores Heat Victory, Podium Finish at Delaware Speedway

LONDON, Ontario — Starting on the fourth row, A.J. Emms would make his way forward throughout the 50-lap Queenston Chevrolet Buick GMC OSCAAR Modified feature at Delaware Speedway to finish third.

He started off the night by winning his first qualifying heat, though following the re-draw for the feature, he would start eighth. He began to make his way forward from the drop of the green flag, moving up into sixth by the fourth lap. He’d remain there throughout the middle portion of the feature, avoiding contact ahead of him on Lap 26 to move up to fifth.

Starting on the inside of the third row, he’d get alongside Anthony DiBello for third, but the yellow flag came back out for an incident deep in the field. The second restart would see Emms alongside Jason Keen for third, but another caution slowed the action again.

The third attempt saw him alongside DiBello for third, with contact happening between the pair. Emms would initially drop back, but was able to hold off a challenge for position from behind. He’d get back alongside DiBello for third with six laps to go, completing the pass two laps later.

He’d ultimately run out of time to catch the top-two, so he’d ultimately cross the finish line with a third-place finish. The solid performance allowed him to keep his points lead of 31 points.

“Overall, it was a good night,” Emms commented. “Started off eighth, which is definitely difficult to come through a strong field like the OSCAAR Modifieds. We were fortunate to be patient there throughout the race and then start to pick our way through the field with about 15 to go, and we were able to make it up to third. So overall, a great run for us. The car is one piece, we had a lot of speed; we were very happy with everything.

“Looking forward to Flamboro. It’s been a good track for us, so hopefully we can close out the deal there.”

The next race on the OSCAAR Modified schedule is at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday, August 24. Emms knows his way around the Hamilton, Ontario-based oval, winning there last month.